Knoxville

Low-fare airline Independence Air is introducing a new nonstop service from both Knoxville (Tenn.) McGhee Tyson Airport and Columbia (S.C.) Metropolitan Airport to Orlando International Airport beginning Oct. 13. The schedules from Knoxville and Columbia will each include two daily nonstop flights to Orlando, with introductory 14-day advance-purchase fares from both cities as low as $39 one way for tickets purchased at flyi .com today for travel by...

Surfside Players announces AUDITIONS for our main stage production: FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS A Comedy by Alan Ball Presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service Directed by Janet Rubin Auditions will be held July 21st and 22nd (Sunday & Monday, 7:00pm) in the Theatre Lobby. We need 5 women and 1 man (all between 20 and 30ish). Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes. No resume required. Performance dates are September 13 - 29, 2013.

The Knoxville Blue Jays used a three-run sixth inning to pull away from the Orlando SunRays, 6-2, Friday night in Southern League play.The loss was Orlando's fourth in a row - all on the road - and the 16th in its last 18 games.In the sixth, Shawn Scott tripled over Orlando center fielder Mica Lewis for two runs and scored on Oscar Munoz's wild pitch. Robert Perez homered for the Blue Jays in the seventh.Orlando scored in the first on Rex De La Nuez's sacrifice fly and in the fourth on Chris Delarwelle's single.

EXCLUSIVE: Renee Zellweger is set to make her directorial debut with "4 1/2 Minutes," a comedy in which she'll star opposite Johnny Knoxville . Kevin Frakes' PalmStar Media Capital will finance the pic, which K5 International will begin introducing to buyers at Toronto. CAA is handling North American rights. Written by Anthony Tambakis ("Warrior") and based on the life and comedy of real-life stand-up Dov Davidoff , who shares story credit, "4 1/2 Minutes" follows Jimmy Bennett (Knoxville)

Chris Styne's two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning gave the Knoxville Smokies a 4-3 victory over the Orlando Cubs and a split of Sunday's doubleheader in Southern League play.Orlando won the first game, 5-2, when Mike Hubbard, Pedro Valdes and Scott Tedder drew bases-loaded walks in the seventh with two outs.In the opener, Orlando built a 2-0 lead on Tedder's first-inning RBI groundout and Brooks Kieschnick's solo home run in the second. It was his 12th homer.Knoxville tied it at 2 in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI single by Todd Steverson and Chris Weinke's run-scoring double.

Adam Meinershagen allowed one hit in six innings, and shortstop Sharnol Adriana colleted three of Knoxville's 12 hits as the Smokies defeated Orlando, 4-1, Saturday night before a crowd of 2,422 in Southern League play at Tinker Field.Meinershagen, making his Class AA debut, did not walk a batter and struck out two.''Before the game I was nervous but once the game started I was OK,'' the 21-year-old right-hander said following the game. ''The key for me tonight was the first-pitch strikes.

A look at recent events in the news that pleased us ... Honored teacher:Phyllis Hillis, who has taught at Oak Ridge High School since 1979, will receive the Presidential Award for Excellence for Mathematics and Science Teaching -- the highest honor given by the government specifically for K-12 math and science teaching. "I am very excited. This is the culmination of a number of years of teaching, which is my love," the 63-year-old said from Washington on Thursday. "And it has been an opportunity to meet with other colleagues.

With a new parking plan in the works for the north end of downtown, a prominent building has been snapped up by a local buyer. Knoxville businessman Fred Langley has purchased the Kimberly-Clark building, at the corner of Summit Hill Drive and Locust Street, and is working to find tenants for the 12-story office property. According to a news release, the buyer of the office building at 520 W. Summit Hill Drive was FL Summit Hill, LLC, an entity whose members are a Langley family trust and Scottie Epperson of Fred R. Langley and Companies.

East Tennessee's economy is on the right track, according to a think tank. A new report from the Brookings Institution, based in Washington, D.C. , said the Knoxville metro area's "recovery performance" ranked 15th out of the country's 100 largest metropolitan areas from the last quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2012. That performance actually represents some slippage, since Knoxville was 12th overall during the previous quarter. But for local economic development officials, it's still good news.

Football brought Missouri and Texas A&M to the SEC. The basketball Tigers and Aggies got dragged along in the bargain. Still, both are welcome additions, to hear the SEC basketball coaches tell it Monday in a teleconference. In the penthouse, Kentucky 's John Calipari is all open arms. "They're gonna have a huge impact on what happens," Calipari said. "Now all of a sudden the strength of the league goes up. "If the league expands again and adds two more teams, I'd be fine with that.